This Is My Redemption
by Silver Serene Moonlight
Summary: Jacob Ben Israel is acknowledged as one of the most despised people at McKinley High School. One shot changes everything. Teen commits suicide in a dumpster. His story becomes nation news. In death, he does what he failed to do in life. His last act is a plea for help. It is an apology. It is hope that there will be no more victims. This is his last redemption.
1. Prologue

I do not own Glee.

Inspired by _They Will Finally See_ by brenstal

I was really disappointed that fic wasn't finished.

Thank you for reading.

 **Prologue**

"I'm home!" He called slipping off his shoes before closing the door. Silence greeted him. His brow furrowed and he turned into the kitchen to find it empty. "Mom?" He called.

"Up here!" The voice came from another room. He entered the living room to find a ladder in the middle of the room leading up to the attic. He dropped his backpack, leaving his camera on the coffee table before climbing up. He poked his head through the hole.

"Mom?" He looked around the dimly lit room filled with boxes, dust, and cobwebs. He found her rifling through a box in a corner. "What are you doing?" He asked.

She looked up. "Oh, Jacob. I was going through some of our old things. Come take a look at these." She smiled, sounding excited. He climbed the rest of the way up and sat down next to her. She showed him the old photo albums. "Do you remember that nice boy you used to play with before we moved here?" She asked. He thought about it. He vaguely remembered a smaller boy who used to play with him.

"Kind of?" He frowned. He couldn't remember. He felt slightly guilty for forgetting a friend. The only friend he remembered having. His mom grinned and handed him some of the albums.

"Well-" Whatever she intended to say was cut off as a piercing cry rang through the house. "Oh, I better go." She got up and hurried down the ladder, but he barely noticed. Because staring back up at him was the smiling face of a tiny Kurt Hummel.

After getting over the shock, he scooped up the rest of the albums and headed to his room. While his computer booted up, he perused the albums. The more pictures he saw, the more he remembered. The boy who was willing to play superstar and reporter with him. Making newspapers and proudly presenting them to both of their parents. Tea parties. They were different people but, both being outsiders, they had grown close and learned to compromise when it came to playing games. And with every picture the conviction grew. There was no doubt about it. His first, and only, friend had been Kurt Hummel. In a panic, he rushed to his computer. With every video, he felt more shame and more guilt. He had ostracized his friend. He had helped with the bullying and the humiliation. Even as he watched, he grew guiltier as he noticed for the first time that, in the earlier videos, Kurt seemed more hurt by what he said than what the jocks said. Even in the later videos, even as he harassed and insulted him, Kurt had been nicer to him than most of the school. He was the only one to actually call him by his name. He didn't even insult him in return. In fact, in most of the videos, he just tried to get him to stop.

His mom had made spaghetti. While she fed his baby sister, she held a conversation with his dad. He was vaguely aware of his surroundings. Had Kurt remembered him all these years? That was the only explanation he could reach for his behavior. The thought was a chilling one. How hurt would he have been if his first friend had treated him like that? The thought consumed his mind as he lay in bed that night. He couldn't sleep. Tomorrow was Friday. Or was it today now? He couldn't be bothered to check the time. In the hall, he could hear his parents talking. He barely bothered to listen until he heard his name. "-so depressed lately." His mom was saying. "I think he needs help."

His dad's reply was firm. "He seems fine. I'm sure it's just the usual teenage angst."

His mom wasn't convinced. "I think he needs to see someone. He hasn't brought home a friend since 2nd grade. Even if he's not depressed, he needs help."

His dad sighed. "You know we don't have that kind of money." He murmured. "I'm sure Jacob will be fine." There was silence. "Let's go to bed." Steps sounded down the hall and the lights turned off. As he lay there, he could feel the tears gathering in his eyes. Sitting up, he wiped them hastily and stuffed a blanket under his door before booting up his computer and plugging in earbuds. He accidently clicked a video. His own voice came through the computer, taunting Kurt who was begging him to let him out of the dumpster. He saw the camera turn away and he knew that he walked away. His eyes welled up again. He wasn't any better than his bullies. In fact, he was worse. Because Kurt had been his friend. And he had walked away as his friend had begged him for help.

It wasn't difficult. He was too wired to sleep. He updated his blog. He prepared a mass email to every newspaper and TV station in America, making sure to include every video of what took place at McKinley. It was late. His parents would be waking soon. He slipped silently to his father's study. Pausing often in case his parents woke, he opened the safe. He grabbed the gun and turned it over in his hands before slipping back to his room and stashing it in his backpack. He went back to bed and lay awake. He could hear his parents getting up, his mom making breakfast, his dad getting the newspaper. He lay there as his sister shouted out her consciousness. He lay there until his alarm clock rang. He turned it off and sat up before going down for breakfast. It was just like any other day. Before he walked out of the house, he kissed his family and told them he loved them before going off to school.

He barely made it to school before he was hauled up and thrown in the dumpster. Dimly, he heard the bell ring in the distance. He didn't care. He felt numb. Calmly, he typed out a note on his email before sending it. He rummaged through his bag for the gun. He thought of his parents and sister who were short on money. He thought of his fellow victims here at McKinley. He thought of the jocks who made his life hell just because they could. He thought of the teachers who turned a blind eye to it all. Lastly, he thought of Kurt who was at Dalton now. This is my redemption. It was his last thought before a gunshot rang out throughout William McKinley High School.


	2. Chapter 1

I do not own Glee.

Thank you for reading.

 **Chapter 1**

This month was slow. There hadn't been anything newsworthy yet, and at this point, they were just trying to find something to report. There was nothing. Yawning, Maria opened her email. There was a recently sent message tagged as urgent. Curiosity peaked, she opened the message. All over the country, reporters and anchormen were receiving the same email. With wide eyes, Maria scurried between the cubicles to the editor. He looked up as she entered the office and showed him the email. He read it over and watched one of the videos attached. He straightened in his chair. "Get over to that school!" He barked reaching for a pen. "I want the story, front page news!"

The school was blocked off when she got there. She had arrived just in time. Apparently, a gun shot had been heard and police were getting ready to find out if there was a school shooter. While they were pulling on bullet-proof vests, she managed to persuade an officer that the gun shot was suicide, not murder. He paused as she brought up the email on her phone, before calling for the man in charge of this. Reassured but uncertain, the police pulled on their gear before entering the school. After they left, she followed. She had her own ideas of where the body of this boy could be. The dumpsters or the port-a-potties, she reminded herself. If not, the police would find him. Spying a dumpster, she hurried over and struggled to open it, going as far to get the photographer to help, as the first of the students were escorted out by the police. Seeing that she was meddling with a potential crime scene, an angry officer started to come over as she finally succeeded in opening it. She helped the photographer get high enough for a picture before peering in herself. She gasped and fell out just as the police officer arrived. "I'm going to have to ask you to-" He started before she interrupted him. Shaking, she pointed to the dumpster.

"H-H-He's in there." She managed to get out. Looking at her suspiciously, he looked over where the photographer continued to take pictures. Hauling himself up, he looked into the dumpster. With wide eyes, he shouted to another officer who had escorted out another class.

"The body and the gun's over here!"

After the police were done getting her statement, she had called her boss. Hearing the story, he decided that this was the biggest news they were going to get this week and promptly contacted their partnered news station before telling her to stay there at a hotel, the newspaper would pay the hotel fees. Several hours later, she was introduced to the news anchor they sent over, a Sarah Smith. The news station got a good shot of the body, the school, and interviewed her. On national news, she explained the slow news day, the urgent email, the sick videos, and her arrival at McKinley High School as well as her discovery of the body. As the camera cut off, Sarah Smith promised the interview went well and that it would probably make tomorrow's news. In return, she forwarded the videos and Sarah Smith left to call her station. As soon as it was over, she went to the hotel. Pulling off her shoes, she collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. She was too wired to sleep. This story hit a chord inside her. She sat up suddenly and pulled out her laptop. Mentally reviewing the facts, she slowly began to type the story. After she sent it in, she waited for her boss to call. When he did, he sounded happy. Upon learning that no other news station or reporter seemed to have gotten hold of such a big story during a period of slow news, he promised her a pay raise and praised her article. Before hanging up and telling her to sleep, he told her it would be tomorrow's headline news. Exhausted, she didn't even bother changing; she simply fell asleep.

It was 8 am on a Saturday, and already the majority of the school was awake. The semester was almost over and students were trying to get homework done and start studying for final exams. The student body was mostly crowded in the school common rooms trying to get their work done. Because the film students were crowded around the TV in the senior common room, other seniors had opted to study in other common rooms. The film students waited impatiently for the news to come on. As always, five minutes before it did, the news station sent out a major news bulletin at the bottom of the screen. The first object of news boldly proclaimed major abuse at a public William McKinley High School. David dropped his notebook. As the other students turned to stare at him, he jumped to his feet and ran out of the room leaving confusion behind him. The nearby junior common room was quiet as students either studied silently or quietly quizzed each other. The silence ended as David ran into the room and promptly tripped over someone's bag. Wes and Blaine, who had been quizzing each other for their upcoming quiz in business, exchanged glances before looking at an out-of-breath David. He sat up and dimly noted that the majority of the Warblers were there. "Kurt." He panted. "News." Wes raised an eyebrow. Rolling his eyes, David crawled over to the coffee table and turned the TV on despite the grumbling just as the local news came on. News anchor Sarah Smith appeared on the news interviewing another lady in front of what seemed to be a school.

"Hey, isn't that McKinley?" Blaine asked. Curiously, the other boys crowded around the TV. Sarah Smith continued.

"We are here today at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. At 7:12am on the 28th of November a gunshot rang out. The room was silent except for the typing of phone keys as several boys texted their friends in other common rooms to turn on the news. "Instead of a school shooter as originally thought, the gun shot sounded a suicide. The boy's family is most grieved. Junior Jacob Ben Israel was found in a dumpster after having committed suicide." There were confused murmurs. Why was suicide committed in a dumpster? The news anchor turned to the lady next to her. "Here we have Ms. Maria Ramirez, a news reporter for who discovered the body. How did you think to look in the dumpster?"

Maria Ramirez was noticeably nervous. "It was a slow news day." She began. "I was going through my email, hoping for a story when I noticed an email titled urgent." She paused. "Any other day, I wouldn't have opened it, but there was no news to report so I looked." She paused again and gulped. "It was a suicide note. A boy had sent me a suicide note. He had attached videos claiming that these were the reasons for his death. After watching these, I flew out to find police ready to confront a school shooter but I knew they wouldn't find anyone. I-" She faltered and cleared here throat. "I knew that the police would find the body if it was inside the school but there were two places I had to check on my own." She paused again and took a deep breath. "The dumpsters and the port-a-potties."

Sarah Smith took over again. "How did you know to check these places?"

"I-In the videos, there was severe bullying and some of the most common methods seemed to be tossing people into dumpsters or locking them in a port-a-potty and rolling it down a hill." There were horrified gasps.

"Thank you Maria. Now we will be showing the severe bullying that seems to have taken place at this public school as captured by the recently deceased Jacob Ben Israel." By now, the TV in every common room was on and all the boys were transfixed as they watched the clips. People throwing pee balloons. Dumpster tosses. Throwing slushies at other kids. Rolling port-a-potties down a hill. Throwing kids down stairs. Stranding a kid in a wheelchair on a stair landing. Slamming people into lockers. Insults. Verbal harassment. Holding people down and drawing on them. Pushing a pregnant girl. Notes telling people to die. And then, a boy was cornered and twelve boys who were obviously larger pouring syrup on him, calling him a fag. Blaine sat up and gasped.

"That's Kurt." Wes and David looked at him horrified as that same boy with the blurred out face was stuffed in his own locker. Kurt seemed to be the major victim. More slushies, more pushes, more verbal harassment. It went on and despite few deviations, the majority of the bullying seemed to target who blurred out figure Blaine had identified as Kurt.

"How do you know that's Kurt?" Wes asked.

"He told me he was the only out gay kid at his school." The common room was silent as the boys seethed at the abuse doled out to someone who was now one of them. On screen, Kurt was being pushed against his locker by a large boy in a letterman jacket.

"If you tell anyone, I'll kill you."


	3. Chapter 2

I do not own Glee.

Sorry for the delay, I got really caught up in APs, SATs, and finals.

Thank you for reading.

 **Chapter 2**

He stretched before getting up. With a glance out of the window, he realized that he had been in there a lot longer than he thought. He checked the time while packing away some of his books. As it was almost finals week, he had had the misfortune of being in the one class that was assigned a research essay. It had taken a while but he was finished. He just had some studying left to do. Hoisting his messenger bag onto his shoulder, he started walking to the cafeteria. Taking a second to adjust his bag, he dimly noted the buzz of talking that is always heard during a meal. Vaguely aware that the buzz seemed slightly angrier and louder than usual, he pulled the door open and walked in. He doesn't notice it at first. The chatter continues, but as one person noticed his arrival, he alerted his tablemates. Eventually, the entire cafeteria was silent. Humming as he's at the salad bar, he became aware that the room had fallen silent and everyone seemed to be staring at him. Unnerved, his eyes dart around and he finished getting his food before hurrying to the Warbler table. The silence persisted but, as he neared, Nick and Wes who had been on either side of Blaine hurriedly made room for him and he slipped in between Nick and Blaine. Everyone was still staring at him. The entire cafeteria was still silent. "Why is everyone staring at me?" The cafeteria exploded. Amidst the chaos, he can make out cussing; he hadn't known Dalton boys cussed, and something about the news.

It took a while for everyone to calm down. Even then, there were dark looks that made him unconsciously lean closer to Blaine. Noticing, Blaine wrapped an arm around his shoulder and shot warning looks to the other boys. "Kurt." He paused briefly before continuing. "McKinley was on the news today."

"Really? Why?" Blaine exchanged nervous glances with Wes and David.

"Someone committed suicide. A Jacob Ben-Israel?" He heard a roaring in his ears. Jacob was dead. Vaguely, he was aware that Blaine was saying something but he couldn't hear. Jacob was dead. He jolted back to reality to Blaine patting his cheek and peering into his eyes. Any other time he would have blushed but it didn't matter this time. Jacob was dead. Blaine was saying something again. Jacob was dead. There was more roaring in his ears. Jacob was dead. He noted the black dots in his vision. Jacob was dead.

The entire table jumped up when Kurt fell over before Blaine caught him. The cafeteria crowded around the two before Thad started to leave for the nurse. Before he reached the doors, they opened. The Headmaster stepped through followed by two police officers. "Kurt Hummel?"


End file.
